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Top tennis player bemoans Sydney heat

Glenn Cullen

World No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska declared it "too hot to play tennis" and suggested it might be time for event organisers to halt proceedings as temperatures tipped the 40-degree mark at the Sydney International.

The Pole hung tough for a straight-sets win on Tuesday over Kimiko Date-Krumm to reach the last eight of the event but the weather quickly became more of a talking point than the quality of her play.

"I think this is too hot to play tennis," Radwanska said when asked if matches should be put on hold at the Australian Open lead-up event.

"Even for players, for ball kids, for the people sitting out there, I think it's just too hot.

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"I think I would prefer to go on court at 11:00pm and play a match."

The temperature reached 40.3 degrees at 1.25pm (AEDT) at the Olympic Park facility, with on-court conditions thought to be up to 10 degrees hotter still.

The mercury was expected to rise further into the late afternoon with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a top temperature of 43 degrees in Sydney.

Radwanska said she was trying not to alter her game in the conditions but admitted she had more of a battle against the heat than her opponent.

"I think the first main thing is just to stay calm and trying to survive," said the 2012 Wimbledon finalist, who admitted having experienced similar conditions at Melbourne Park during the Australian Open.

The tournament does have an Extreme Heat Policy (EHP) but it only comes into effect at the discretion of the tournament referee. Tennis officials apply a complex formula factoring in heat, humidity, wind and radiation to determine when on-court conditions become too stressful for the players.